This bulletin board, hosted by the CDSOA, Inc., is the on-line meeting place for all Cape Dory owners and groups. We welcome everyone's questions, answers and comments about Cape Dory sailboat
on our CD 28 we use a "space blanket" (red on one side/silver reflective on the other) to line the insde of the the ice box. I then load about 100lbs of block ice and our food and drinks...then top it off with another 40lbs of crushed.
As the ice melts I use throwable cushions to take up space and add insulation.
During a week cruise I might pick up 10-15lbs of ice to use in my cocktails.
When we return from a one week vaca I endup throwing a 40 lb block over board.
The system works well. So well in fact that several years ago we left Beverly, MA on November 5th and took a month to sail to FL...we topped off with ice here and there, but I still had a piece of the original block when we arrived in FL.
Are you sure? The few times I've inadvertently left same cooling in the freezer too long they explode. Every time! Because that's what liquids do when they freeze. They expand. I do freeze a bunch of water in gal jug and small individual size, BUT you must leave enough room inside for the water to expand as it freezes.
To take up the unused space in the ice box place a reflective blanket on top of everything. Cold stays below and doesn't attempt to cool the air above. And the hot air admitted upon opening the box never gets to the ice and cold stuff below. And it stores rolled up IN THE ICE BOX when not in use. Makes ice last maybe 3-4 times longer.
Have a nice cruise.
Randy 25D Seraph #161
PS Bring twice the drinking water you expect to use if it's going to be hot. And drink it to stay hydrated, NOT beer. Too much beer will make you DE-hydrate. A little beer is no problem as long as it's not the only liquid you consume.
First, freezing drives the CO2 out of solution. If you wait until it warms above 32F before you open it, most of the CO2 will go back into solution, but not all. In other words, your beer will be slightly flat.
Second, thawing frozen beer can be a tricky business. Because it's under pressure, beer remains liquid below 32F. If you open it then, the beer will freeze, the CO2 will disappear and you'll be left with frozen beer that will be completely flat when it thaws.
Our daughter was living in Fairbanks last winter, and has a frozen can story to tell. She and a friend left a coke sitting on the dashboard of a friend's borrowed truck while they went into a bar for an hour. They returned to find that the can had burst when partially frozen, and sprayed the remaining coke onto the windshield, where it had immediately frozen into a solid cone.
Cleanup was a major problem, as scraping it off littered the truck with small crystals, which would melt to sticky spots in the spring, and cleaning up with water was completely out of the question.
Except for those Lake Superior folks, this probably isn't a boating probem.
Tom and Jean Keevil
CD33 Rover
Ashland OR and Ladysmith, BC
All of these are good ideas. A couple things my wife and I did for our snowbird trip last winter was to keep the bottled water and wine in the bilge. Not down in the sump, but where it stayed dry and was easy to get to. Canned goods were labeled on the end of the can with magic marker to make it easier to locate. These also went low. Crackers, cookies and snacks were kept in a hammock. Also you can do wonders with the foil sealed tuna and hamburger (pre cooked, no refrigeration).
One other thing 35mm film cans hold about $7 in quarters. These are the most valuable coin as they are required in laundromats.
Enjoy
Jim Davis
S/V Isa Lei
"I think the best insurance in the world against another war is to take care of the boys who fought in the last one, you may want to use them again."
Will Rogers. "
Jim Davis wrote: These are the most valuable coin as they are required in laundromats.
Thanks for reminding me. In 1972 I was heading home from the Tonkin Gulf via a supply ship and a short stop in Subic Bay, Phillipines. We get to the base after more than a month at sea and find that they have beer vending machines... it was 3.2 beer but that was better than anything we had for a month or more... only problem was the machine took quarters... which were selling for about a dollar apiece as I remember. <g>
Joe Myerson wrote:Bill,
I can't find the thread either, but you're right. It was on this board that the pics of CDs (compact discs) as labels for draw-string bags was posted.
It was a great idea then, and it still is.
--Joe Myerson
There is nothing new under the sun, so perhaps it wasn't our idea that you're referring to, but we did sew up a bunch of drawstring bags with CDs as labels, and I think we might have also mentioned it on the board.
One piece of unsolicited advice: shop around for nylon bags rather than making them yourself. After spending something like sixty dollars on material, we found similar bags for five or six bucks each - a tad less expensive and much simpler.
When a CD shatters (and they do) they break into long thin shards just as glass does, and they are nearly as sharp as glass. I really would not recommend using them for other than their original purpose around a boat. Oh, and to clean up completely after one has shattered is nigh onto impossible.
All the above from first hand experience. :(
g'Luk
Didereaux- San Leon, TX
last owner of CD-25 #183 "Spring Gail"
"I do not attempt to make leopards change their spots...after I have skinned them, they are free to grow 'em back or not, as they see fit!" Didereaux 2007
I use them to organize everything from engine spares, snatch blocks to sail repair and electrical supplies, similar to David's pictures. Rather than using CDs as labels I just label the side of the bag with a large indelible black marker. Probably requires more rooting around for the right bag than a bright CD label. However, if you get a variety of colors, you can organize what type of supplies go with what color bag, i.e. sail repair/rigging supplies/snatch blocks in green bags, engine spares in red bags (I have a Westerbeke); bulbs, fuses other electrical spares in blue bags. Saves time.
I dangle them on a string using a clothspin. One on the bow and one in the cockpit. They're very effective at keeping birds (and their droppings) off the boat.
What are socks???? And you only need two pairs of skivvies. The one you are wearing and the other one. Sounds like you carry too much gear. Be sure you have enough beer. Then if there is space left, pack some food. You will carry spare fuel on deck. What else do you need to know?
Will
Jambalaya
CD30
